| Building a do-it-yourself wind turbine is an effective | | | | Often these labels do not describe the peak power |
| way to greatly reduce or even eliminate the cost of | | | | demand in Watts but instead give the amps and |
| home electricity. Of course they also serve the | | | | voltage requirements. In order to convert these |
| additional benefit of reducing pollution by converting the | | | | measurements into watts just multiply them together. |
| sun's nearly renewable energy into useable electricity. | | | | Amps X Volts = Watts. |
| Before attempting to build your own wind turbine it is | | | | Some small appliances are rated in Milliamps. This is |
| important to understand how much electricity you | | | | equivalent to one 1/1000 of a Watt. For example: a cell |
| currently use. This will be helpful in deciding on how | | | | phone charger might be rated at 850 Milliamps at 9 |
| many turbines to build and whether or not you wish to | | | | Volts. Convert Milliamps into Amps by moving the |
| completely or just partially replace the services of your | | | | decimal point over three digits to the left. 850 Milliamps |
| current power company. | | | | becomes .850 Amps. The charger requires 9 Volts X |
| Step 1: Calculate How Much Power Your Homemade | | | | .850 Amps which equals 7.65 Watts. |
| Wind Turbine Can Produce | | | | Other appliances may only list the amperage. A |
| Some diy wind turbines, for example, are designed to | | | | kitchen vent fan might just read 2.0 Amps with no |
| generate 1000 watts of electricity in a constant 20 mile | | | | voltage or wattage value displayed. Since the fan is |
| per hour wind. If the average wind speed in your area | | | | connected directly to the household current rated at |
| is closer to 10 mph you will obviously need to reduce | | | | approximately 120 Volts then the Watts can be |
| your expectations. Good wind generator plans should | | | | calculated as 120 Volts X 2.0 Amps = 240 Watts. |
| include a wind speed versus power-out chart. | | | | Another tricky device is a guitar amplifier. Mine is rated |
| Once you build and install your home power generation | | | | at 15 Watts but this is a little deceiving because this is |
| system keep track of its total electrical production in | | | | the power of the sound output. It actually takes 75 |
| kilowatt hours. This can be done by installing a meter in | | | | Watts of electricity to produce the 15 Watts of sound. |
| line with the total system or one for each energy | | | | Step 4. Now Add Them Up |
| producing component. | | | | Add the Wattage values for all of the appliances that |
| Step 2: Use Your Electrical Bill To Learn About Your | | | | you might be running at one time. For example: |
| Actual Total Usage And Peak Demand | | | | (4) 60 Watt Light bulbs = 240 Watts |
| Many electric bills offer a wealth of information about | | | | (1) Television = 60 Watts |
| your electrical usage on an annual basis as well as the | | | | (1) Laptop Computer = 65 Watts |
| totals per month. The monthly totals will help you | | | | (1) Coffee Maker = 900 Watts |
| determine the maximum power needed in the most | | | | (1) Cell Phone Charger = 8 Watts |
| demanding months. | | | | ===== |
| In Michigan, for example, the typically hot month of | | | | Total Watts required to operate all of these items at |
| August will often require the most amount electricity in | | | | one time = 1,273 Watts |
| Kilowatt-Hours because of air conditioning. This is the | | | | If you simultaneously ran all of the above items for one |
| most critical month for a completely off-the-grid | | | | hour they would require =1,273 Watt-Hours of Power. |
| system because it helps determine the maximum peak | | | | One windmill generator producing 500 Watts would |
| amount of electrical power needed. | | | | then need to be charging your battery storage bank |
| Step 3. Calculate The Electrical Power Needs of | | | | for 2.5 to 3 hours. |
| Individual Appliances | | | | If you tie your wind powered electricity in with the |
| Modern appliances are required by law, at least in the | | | | household power grid, (with the aid of a licensed |
| United States, to carry a printed label or engraving that | | | | electrician of course), then you really do not have to |
| describes its power requirements. For example a | | | | budget quite so carefully. If the diy wind turbines don't |
| television set might be labeled 65 Watts. This means | | | | bank enough power on a windless day the grid can |
| that if the TV was left on for an hour it might use up | | | | always make up the difference. |
| to 65 Watt-Hours of electricity. | | | | |